the cbs evening news is next. harry smith is in for katie tonight with a jailhouse interview. good ght, everybody. >> smith: tonight, that bizarre california kidnapping case takes a chilling new turn. is the man charged with abducting a young girl 18 years ago also a serial killer? i'm harry smith. also tonight, paying final respects to senator kennedy. tens of thousands slowly file pass the casket and members of the kennedy family are there to thank them. and children of katrina. they survived the hurricane... >> where's fema? >> reporter: four years later their wounds have not yet fully healed. >> we saw a man who was holding his daughter in his hand and she died in his hand so it made me feel bad. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric.

>> smith: good evening, katie is off tonight. the story was already strange enough. an 11-year-old girl kidnapped 18 years ago in california suddenly reappears and the couple who allegedly took her are charged with 29 counts of forcible abduction, rape, and false imprisonment. now a new turn. police searched the couple's home for evidence in the murders of several prostitutes. john blackstone has the latest on the investigation and how officials missed chances to break the case. >> reporter: across a neighbor's fence, the secret backyard prison seems to be a jumble of tents and trash. it is here that for 18 years jaycee dugard was held captive and apparently where she gave birth to two children. damon robinson lives next door. >> it reminds you of hannibal lecter liability deal, it's, like, creepy. >> reporter: what lay behind the house on walnut avenue was kept from view by thick shrubs, all

the trees and solid fences. entered through a narrow gap hidden by a tarp, there was a secret second backyard, a crude prison. there investigators found a series of sheds and tents they say were strategically arranged to prevent any contact with the world beyond. chillingly, one of the sheds was completely soundproof with a door that could be opened only from the outside. there were two tents, a rudimentary outdoor toilet, and a shower of the kind used for camping. jaycee's accused captors, 58-year-old convicted sex offender phillip garrido and his wife nancy have been charged with kidnapping, taking jaycee from a bus stop in 1991. garrido is also charged with rape. police believe he fathered jaycee's two daughters, the first born when jaycee was just 14. garrido spoke of the girls, now aged 11 and 15, in a phone call from jail.

>> reporter: the county sheriff admitted today a worried neighbor warned his department about garrido three years ago. >> the caller also said that garrido was psychotic and had a sexual addiction. >> reporter: the neighbor also reported people were living outside but the deputy who investigated never looked in the backyard. >> we are beating ourselves up over this and will continue to do so. >> reporter: the secret prison was also missed by a parole officer supervising the convicted sex offender with home visits as often as three times a month. on monday, garrido showed upton berkeley campus of the university of california handing out religious literature. a campus police officer became suspicious when she saw the two young girls with him. she checked his identity and reported him to his parole officer who investigated and arrested garrido on wednesday. those who knew garrido now

understand why his behavior was unusual. >> what i thought was strange was that he would never let us go to his house. even if you went and picked him up, he would come running out. he says "don't come to the door, i'll come to you." >> reporter: jaycee, now 29, appears to have made no effort to escape. >> it's typical not to say anything. >> reporter: they're under such control? >> they're under such control. their minds have been controlled. they have been told all these lies and they obey. >> reporter: overseeing his backyard prison here in the past few years, garrido became a religious zealot, he kept a blog on which he claimed that god spoke directly to him through a special box. harry? >> smith: john black stone, thanks. in boston, family and close friends of senator edward kennedy gathered at the john f. kennedy library for a private memorial service this evening. vice president biden is among the speakers. earlier, members of the family personally thanked the many thousands of people from all over the country who filed past

the casket to pay their respects. here's national correspondent jim axelrod. >> reporter: they all got their few seconds to say good-bye to ted kennedy. 70,000 people in two days. a boy scout troop, a senior citizen in a wheelchair, two women carrying a farewell message. angela sanfilippo from the fishing community of gloucester, massachusetts, waited two and a half hours for her few seconds. >> it's okay. >> reporter: not so bad. >> no. not for 40 years of the loving care that i received from the senator. >> reporter: she brought her treasured snapshots inside and a heartful of fwrat tuesday for kennedy's help fighting for fishermen's rights and in helping sanfilippo find treatment for her disabled brother. >> it was peaceful. it was very peaceful. and what i said to him was just "peace be with you and see you in paradise." >> reporter: kennedy family members groted the mourners, his

son patrick, his widow vicki. it was hard to tell who got more from the hand shakes, the mourners or the kennedys. >> oh, absolutely, it's deeply comforting. >> reporter: 13 condolence books were set up in the parking lot. when this man from cameroon was a student in the u.s., his government's red tape delayed his tuition money. kennedy called cameroon's president and solved the problem. >> nobody would do that. i just picked up my phone, called him because somebody introduced me to him and he just took it from there. >> reporter: with the public viewing now over, the kennedys want a lighter hearted celebration of the senator's life at the memorial tonight, a chance for friends and family to share some stories and have some laughs. harry? >> smith: jim axelrod in boston. thanks. peter canellos is editorial page editor of the "boston globe" and he edited a "boston globe" biography of senator kennedy called "last lion: the fall and rise of ted kennedy" and joins us this evening. peter, good evening. >> thank you.

>> couric: what are are you hearing about what is going to happen to the senator's... to kennedy's senate seat? >> i think the first question is whether there will be an interim appointment and i think that's likely to happen. then there will be an election and we'll have several candidates, probably somebody from the kennedy family, there's speculation about joe kennedy or perhaps even his widow vicki. there also are three congressmen and the state's attorney general all possible candidates. >> smith: i think thing that struck so many of us is hearing these individual testimonials from folks far and wide, powerful and powerless who the senator intervened in their lives in such dramatic fashion. he was an old-fashioned retail politician. >> absolutely. and he got that from his grandfather honey fit, the former mayor of boston who took him through the streets of the city to barbershops, to bars, taught him how to really get to know people and so there's a deep personal connection between

him and the people of massachusetts. >> smith: peter canellos from the "boston globe," thanks. >> thank you. >> smith: in california today, the governor declared an emergency in two counties where wildfires are burning out of control. the worst of them are around los angeles. a fast-moving fire in rancho palos verdes south of the city forced hundreds of people to evacuate. now a bigger fire e northno of e is threatening hundreds of homes. sandra hughes is on the scene tonight. >> reporter: in la canada flintridge 12 miles northeast of downtown los angeles, 70-foot flames are scorching hillsides above homes. a massive smoke bloom can be seen for miles. >> right now it's pretty much out of control. it's runing where it wants to run. >> reporter: 900 homes are under voluntary evacuation orders, including bill johnson's. how close have the flames gotten to your house, would you say, bill? >> well, if i had marshmallows i

could probably make s'mores. >> reporter: because of the air support, he's not leaving. >> >> see how accurate these guys are at dumping that? they're so good. >> reporter: this is what firefighters have to contend with: superheated flames burning through bone-dry brush, triple digit temperatures and low humidity make it even more difficult for firefighters to gain the upper hand. the flames that last night exploded in the affluent coastal community of rancho palos verdes have now calmed. the 1,500 evacuees allowed home. it was the air assault that made the difference. only 230 acres burned. >> we had helicopters that were either dropping 300, 400, or a thousand gallons in each drop. that was critical for getting that containment. >> reporter: miraculously, only an outbuilding and a gazebo were destroyed. six homes sustained minor damage. back in lann canada, where no homes have burned, susan and arnold graham are packed up and ready to go. >> if it takes a run up this

canyon, it will come right over and jump quite a distance if the wind blows particularly. >> reporter: now, the good news is that high winds that could push these flames into the neighborhoods are not in the forecast and it's predicted this weekend that temperatures should drop slightly. the bad news is that the dry conditions are going to persist. harry? >> smith: sandra hughs in southern california tonight, thank you. there are now more than 60,000 americans fighting in afghanistan and as the number of troops there as swelled, so has the number of soldiers and marines killed in action. in eastern afghanistan today, an american soldier was killed by a roadside bomb. that brings the u.s. death toll for august to 46, surpassing july now as the deadliest month of the war. cbs news correspondent cami mccormick was riding in the same army vehicle as the soldier and was seriously wounded. cami, who is 47, underwent emergency surgery at a field hospital and was then taken to

bagram air base for further treatment. she is in stable condition. coming up next on the "cbs evening news," four years later some of the youngest survivors of hurricane katrina are still struggling. my name's lisa. i'm from fayetteville, north carolina, ...and i smoked for 29 years. the one thing about smoking - is it dominates your life, and it dominated mine. and the sad thing about it is that you can always use an excuse if cigarettes don't kill me, oh well - something else will. but, you can't use that as an excuse. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. it was interesting that you could smoke on the first week. chantix gave me that extra help that i needed to get through a tough time. (announcer) chantix is a non-nicotine pill.

in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it is proven to reduce the urge to smoke. i did have an unopen pack of cigarettes in my purse and then i think i opened my purse and realized it was still there. and i said, "what the heck, i don't need these..." ...i said, you know, "bye, i don't need you anymore, you're not my crutch, i don't need a crutch." (announcer) talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face,

mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you are taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit smoking products. as a non-smoker it's wonderful. the best thing that ever happened. the best thing i have ever done besides my husband, and dogs, and family. with the chantix and with the support system, it worked. it worked for me. (announcer) talk to your doctor to find out veif prescription chantix is right for you. it worked for me. >> smith: as tropical storm danny slowly heads north, a

search is on for a boy who disappeared today in rough waters off the north carolina coast. the boy, who was 12, was body boarding. danny's top winds are 40 miles an hour. forecasters expect it to brush by the northeast tomorrow, bringing heavy rains, strong winds and dangerous surf. four years ago today, a storm named katrina was set to slam into the gulf coast. when it did, the death and destruction were horrific. it killed more than 1,600 people that's why small signs of recovery like the opening of a high school health clinic st. bernard parish today means so much. but for many of the youngest survivors of katrina, the wounds have not yet healed. here's chief national correspondent byron pitts. >> reporter: four years after hurricane katrina survivors will tell you... >> i'm going to die. the water's steady rising in the attic. >> where's fema? >> reporter: the events of that day and the days after were both horrifying and haunting.

>> we was walking on dead bodies and we actually saw a man who was holding his daughter in his hand and she just died in his hand. it made me feel bad and i started crying and worrying& about my little sisters and brothers. >> reporter: how does a young person process that kind of stuff? seeing things like that. >> at the time, i didn't want to process it. >> reporter: for these new orleans high school students, the lingering scar of hurricane katrina isn't what happened four years ago, it's what hasn't happened four years later. >> i live in the ninth ward and, like, i have to go to school, travel seven miles everyday and i see the ninth ward is still the same. >> reporter: in fact, just 2,600 of the 14,000 residents who lived in the lower ninth ward before katrina have returned. while much of new orleans is getting back to normal, the area's hardest hit still struggle. especially children. >> it makes me mad sometimes. >> reporter: experts say getting over the mental trauma of a disaster like hurricane katrina normally takes about three years. but as new orleans closes in on

a fourth anniversary, health officials believe it could take children and adults here three times longer to heal from their psychological wounds. >> our young people here in new orleans were forced to face a very adult situation and, you know, it's had some consequences. >> reporter: four years ago, we first met dr. jullette saussy, director of new orleans e.m.s. outside the city's convention center. she and her team ankle deep in water, chest deep in a health care system that was overwhelmed and broken. today she says it's the mental health system that's busted and children here are paying for it. >> a lot of experimenting with substance abuse. a lot of self-medication. a lot of drinking. a lot of drugs. >> reporter: according to a 2007 study, it's estimated that there are 45,000 children in the city have that have some kind of mental health problem. this year alone, there have been 40 suicides among adults and children, the youngest person 11 years old. >> anybody that knows anything

about children knows that the best case scenario is to have a children in a supportive environment for any kind of treatment. >> i'm 13 years old. >> reporter: we first met an emotional tyronne smith seven days after he was forced to evacuate to baton rouge. >> i have lost my house, my dogs it's just been horrible. >> reporter: now a junior in high school, tie ron credits his parents and counseling for helping him. >> katrina changed everything in an instance. >> reporter: that's a tough lesson for a kid to learn. >> yup, but i've learned it. so now i value everything. >> reporter: earlier this year, the smiths moved back to their home which was once under five feet of water. how's life for you now? >> great. back with my family, back with my friends, made new friends. >> reporter: back home in a city that is slowly putting the pieces back together.b@ byron pitts, cbs news, new orleans. bicycle, i've missed you.

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